15 May,2012, St Georges, Bermuda
Where has the time gone? Tomorrow is our last day in Bermuda. We could not leave without a visit to the Naval Dockyard and the National Maritime Museum situated right at the western tip of the island. It was worth every minute of the hour and a half bus trip from St George's. Our only regret was that one day was not really enough. This maritime museum was one of the best we have ever visited, the restoration of the entire site superbly done. There were too many places of interest and I just don't have the time to cover them all but the highlights were the High Cave Magazine describing living conditions for created by convicts and prisoners of war from the Boer, First and Second World Wars and displayed many of their fine carvings, the Commissioner's House featuring a mural which took 7000hours to complete, and a statue of King Neptune in the quadrangle. I stood beside him and asked him to watch over us, promising to slip him something sweet. We hurried back To Hamilton for a last minute shop and then a briefing on the next leg. The weather so far is looking quite favourable. To round off a great day we had an excellent dinner in Wahoo's Restaurant with the crew of A Lady.
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14 May,2012, St Georges, Bermuda
Now called Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre, it was an honour to be there at all for it is very rare for any member of the public to be allowed entry. Denis, the manager, originally worked for the Irish coastguard is very highly qualified like the rest of the staff, especially as they have to work their shift on their own, although if there is a major incident there is a call out system in operation. It was altogether a very professional set up with state of the art technology, the equipment costing millions of dollars. During Hurricane Fabian in 2003, the station had a quarter of a million dollars damage, only for it to be repeated a year later. Now in the event of a hurricane Brian explained that they take everything down leaving just the very basic service. They deal with six hundred incidents per annum. I don't actually know how many are yachts, ships, fishing boats, aircraft, but one thousand yachts come to Bermuda annually. He told of many amazing rescues. Vessels, shipping can be tracked and warned if they are heading into danger near Bermuda's treacherous coastline. The ship wrecks around the island amount to in excess of four hundred so it is obviously a very important service not just for maritime safety but also for the ecology and environment. They cover airspace as well. The airport is closed daily between 11pm and 7am but should it be necessary pilots have the facility to switch on landing lights. It was a truly fascinating insight into all the services that they provide and the work done to ensure the safety of lives at sea, not just around Bermuda but all the way to the coast of the US and across the Atlantic. It felt rather reassuring to hear that there was such a dedicated team watching over us.
We ought to have been well rested but for one reason or another it was not the case. The yacht astern of us (not a rally boat) sat up late into the night watching DVD's which we could hear even with our window firmly shut. Then the wind blew from the east and we had nights of slap slap, bang bang under the transom. There might be more rest to be had at sea after all!
"Shiver me timbers"
I really do wonder if the fleet boats understand just how cold it might be on this trip. Leaving Scotland in early May 2004 we were well prepared. We have a head start coming from northern latitude lands. I have summer duvets, winter duvets, hot water bottles, thermals, woollen hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, socks, boots. David checked the temperature today, 25 degrees Celsius. Boy, are we in trouble! Tonight we set the cockpit table for dinner as usual. David put on a gilet. "Surely it can't be that cold". Believe me it was, so we retreated below, closed up the hatches and dined in the saloon for the very first time this season.
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13 May,2012, St Georges, Bermuda
Voyageur bow sits directly overlooking the "Ducking Stool" in King's Square. Used for nagging wives David thought its proximity to Voyageur could not be more suitable. Being Sunday with no ferries running and most of the shops closed we had a stay at home day, doing laundry, answering emails, later a recce of the town. I am so glad we are here and not in busy Hamilton. It's a bit like being on the Crinan Canal on a hot and sunny day. All day locals and visitors alike cross the small bridge directly in front of us, taking pictures and admiring us. We do make a pretty sight with our bunting fluttering in the breeze. Although we have not had the luxury of shore power or water, it has been a real boon to simply step ashore off the boat and voila, we are right in the centre of town, a minute from the supermarket, shops, cafes, restaurants and the bus stop to wherever. We didn't think we could afford to stay more than a couple of days but Stephen negotiated a very good rate with Sandra and we decided that it was worth every penny for the convenience. Besides which we have our old World Arc buddies Aileen and Stephen right up close and personal......
The ARC Europe prize giving was held that night in the St Georges Dinghy and Sports Club. A sit down meal of fish and chips was served to over one hundred and twenty five people. The overall winner was just as we had predicted, A Lady. We are so very thrilled and proud for them, and it comes just one month after their second overall win in the BVI's Oyster Regatta. "It's not a race" declared Nick but as David said to me "If there is a start and a finish then believe me it is a race". You just have to look at all the multi crewed boats and then you realise. It will never make a whit of difference to us. We like and choose to do it the way we do. But the prize of the night, the Perseverance Award was to Heike and Udo on Endo 11, who finally arrived here this afternoon after eight days at sea. They had had to sail almost the entire passage without the use of their engine, and if anyone deserved a prize then these two people did. Oh, I was so embarrassed really. One of the prizes was a visit to Radio Bermuda. There were fourteen tickets and without any hesitation my hand shot up." I want to go there". But fourteen lucky people had a ticket tucked under their seat and I was not one of them. I searched, hoping against hope but it was not to be. Nick must have seen the look of disappointment on my face and slipped me an extra ticket. "But I can't go without David". No problem. Oh, it was the best mother's day present, from the mother of my three sons.....
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